Once an election date has been called, an official election campaign kicks off. This can be an exciting time in politics. Politicians are out campaigning, posters for political parties appear around the streets, opinion polls are released daily to show who is in the lead and the media goes election crazy!
Voter awareness campaigns are also run by the independent Victorian or Australian Electoral Commissions to make sure that people know:
- When the enrolment deadline is
- When and how to vote properly
- What to do if you need help with voting.
Here are some ideas for how you could get involved.
Work in a voting centre
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) runs federal elections and the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) runs state and local elections. During election time they have to employ hundreds of extra staff to help out in the many voting centres across the state or country.
They're always on the lookout for people to employ, particularly if you’re bilingual or can sign in Auslan.
To work in a voting centre you need to be politically impartial which means you should not be involved in a campaign for a particular political party or candidate, express your political views, or try to influence who people vote for.
Get in contact with either the AEC or VEC to find out more.
Join a political party or help out an independent candidate
Candidates and political parties will use materials such as slogans, posters, leaflets, billboards, websites, social media and TV advertising to get their message out to voters. They'll set up stands in shopping centres or community events, hand out leaflets at train stations and knock on doors or make phone calls to encourage people to vote for them.
They're always looking for volunteers and it's a great way to get involved in the elections.
You could also help out with handing out leaflets at voting centres or even scrutinising the counting of votes once voting has closed on election day.